Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.class=artist|id=p6734/biography|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic video:George Coleman Octet feat Harold Mabern - Waltzing Westward Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 1960s. On a whole, he played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk. He appeared as a jazz drummer in the 2001 movie Southlander. In 1989, Higgins cofounded a cultural center, The World Stage, in Los Angeles to encourage and promote younger jazz musicians. The center provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings. Higgins also taught in the jazz studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was divorced from wife Mauricina Altier Higgins and had three sons, William, Joseph, and David, as well as a stepson Jody. His youngest son Benjamin resides in Los Angeles. He also had two daughters, Rickie Wade and Heidi. He died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001 at a hospital in Inglewood, California. Discography As leader *1979: Soweto (Red Records) *1979: The Soldier (Timeless Records) *1980: Bridgework (Fantasy/Contemporary) *1984: Mr. Billy Higgins (Evidence) *1985: Essence (DMP) *1994: 3/4 For Peace (Red) *1995: Once More (Red) *1997: Billy Higgins Quintet (Evidence) *2001: The Best of Summer Nights at Moca (Exodus) As a sideman With Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt *''God Bless Jug and Sonny'' (Prestige, 1973 2001) *''Left Bank Encores'' (Prestige, 1973 2001) With Sandy Bull *''Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo'' (Vanguard, 1963) *''Inventions'' (Vanguard, 1965) With Jaki Byard *''On the Spot!'' (Prestige, 1967) With Donald Byrd *''Royal Flush'' (Blue Note, 1961) *''Free Form'' (Blue Note, 1962) *''Blackjack'' (Blue Note, 1967) *''Slow Drag'' (Blue Note, 1967) With Joe Castro *''Groove Funk Soul!'' (1958) With Don Cherry *''Brown Rice'' (EMI, 1975) *''Art Deco'' (A&M, 1988) With Sonny Clark *''Leapin' and Lopin''' (1961) With Ornette Coleman *''Something Else!!!!'' (Contemporary, 1958) *''The Shape of Jazz to Come'' (Atlantic, 1959) *''Change of the Century'' (Atlantic, 1959) *''The Art of the Improvisers'' (Atlantic, 1959) *''Twins'' (Atlantic, 1961) *''Science Fiction'' (Columbia, 1971) *''In All Languages'' (Caravan of Dreams, 1987) With John Coltrane *''Like Sonny'' (Roulette, 1960) With Bill Cosby *''Hello, Friend: To Ennis With Love'' (Verve, 1997) With Teddy Edwards *''Teddy's Ready!'' (Contemporary, 1960) *''Nothin' But the Truth!'' (Prestige, 1966) With Booker Ervin *''Tex Book Tenor'' (Blue Note, 1968) With Curtis Fuller *''Smokin''' (Mainstream, 1972) With Stan Getz *''The Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet'' (1958, Fantasy) With Dexter Gordon *''Go'' (Blue Note, 1962) *''Clubhouse'' (Blue Note, 1965 - released 1979) *''Gettin' Around'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''The Other Side of Round Midnight'' (Blue Note, 1985) With Grant Green *''First Session'' (Blue Note, 1961) *''Goin' West'' (Blue Note, 1962) *''Feelin' the Spirit'' (Blue Note, 1962) With Charlie Haden *''Quartet West'' (Verve, 1986) *''Silence'' (Soul Note, 1987) *''First Song'' (Soul Note, 1990 1992) With Herbie Hancock *''Takin' Off'' (Blue Note, 1962) *''Round Midnight (soundtrack)'' (Columbia, 1985) With Barry Harris *''Bull's Eye!'' (Prestige, 1968) With Eddie Harris *''The In Sound'' (Atlantic, 1965) *''Mean Greens'' (Atlantic, 1966) *''The Tender Storm'' (Atlantic, 1966) *''Excursions'' (Atlantic, 1966-73) *''How Can You Live Like That?'' (Atlantic, 1976) With Andrew Hill *''Dance with Death'' (Blue Note, 1968 - not released until 1980) With Richard "Groove" Holmes *''Get Up & Get It!'' (Prestige, 1967) With Freddie Hubbard *''Bolivia (Music Master, 1991) With Bobby Hutcherson *''Stick-Up'' (Blue Note, 1969) *''Solo / Quartet'' (Contemporary, 1982) With Sam Jones *''Seven Minds'' (East Wind Records, 1974) With Clifford Jordan *''Glass Bead Game'' (1973, 2 vols.; reissued in 2006 as Glass Bead Games) With Steve Lacy *''Evidence'' (1962) with Don Cherry With Charles Lloyd *''Acoustic Masters I'' (Atlantic, 1993) *''Voice in the Night'' (ECM, 1999) *''The Water Is Wide'' (ECM, 2000) *''Hyperion with Higgins'' (ECM, 2001, released posthumously) *''Which Way Is East'' (ECM, 2004, released posthumously) With Jackie McLean *''A Fickle Sonance'' (Blue Note, 1961) *''Action Action Action'' (Blue Note, 1964) *''Consequence'' (Blue Note, 1965 2005) *''New and Old Gospel'' (Blue Note, 1967) With Charles McPherson *''The Quintet/Live!'' (Prestige, 1966) *''Horizons'' (Prestige, 1968) With Pat Metheny *''Rejoicing'' (ECM, 1983) With Blue Mitchell *''Bring It Home to Me'' (1966) With Hank Mobley *''The Turnaround'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''Dippin''' (Blue Note, 1965) *''A Caddy for Daddy'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''A Slice of the Top'' (Blue Note, 1966 1979) *''Hi Voltage'' (Blue Note, 1967) *''Reach Out!'' (Blue Note, 1968) *''Breakthrough!'' (Muse, 1972) with Cedar Walton *''Straight No Filter'' (Blue Note, 1964-66 1980) With Thelonious Monk *''Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk'' (Riverside, 1960) With Lee Morgan *''The Sidewinder'' (Blue Note, 1963) *''Search for the New Land'' (Blue Note, 1964) *''The Rumproller'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''The Gigolo'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''Cornbread'' (Blue Note, 1965) *''Infinity'' (Blue Note, 1965 1980) *''Delightfulee'' (Blue Note, 1966) *''Charisma'' (Blue Note, 1966) *''The Rajah'' (Blue Note, 1966 1984) *''Standards'' (Blue Note, 1967, 1998) *''Sonic Boom'' (Blue Note, 1967 1979) *''The Procrastinator'' (Blue Note, 1967 1978) *''Taru'' (Blue Note, 1968 1980) *''Caramba!'' (Blue Note, 1968) With David Murray *''Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1'' (Black Saint, 1984) *''Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2'' (Black Saint, 1984) With Horace Parlan *''Happy Frame of Mind'' (Blue Note, 1963) With Art Pepper *''Landscape'' (Galaxy, 1979) *''Straight Life'' (Galaxy, 1979) With Dave Pike *''It's Time for Dave Pike'' (Riverside, 1961) With Jimmy Raney *''The Influence'' (Xanadu, 1975) With Sonny Red *''Sonny Red'' (Mainstream, 1971) With Joshua Redman *''Wish'' (1993) With Sonny Rollins *''Our Man in Jazz'' (RCA Victor, 1965) *''There Will Never Be Another You'' (recorded 1965 released 1978) With John Scofield *''Works for Me'' (Verve, 2000) With Shirley Scott *''One for Me'' (Strata-East, 1974) With Archie Shepp *''Attica Blues'' (Impulse!, 1972) With Sun Ra *''Somewhere Else'' (Rounder, 1988–89) *''Blue Delight'' (A&M, 1989) With Cecil Taylor *''Jumpin' Punkins'' (Candid, 1961) *''New York City R&B'' (Candid, 1961) With Bobby Timmons *''Soul Food'' (Prestige, 1966) *''Got to Get It!'' (Milestone, 1967) With Mal Waldron *''Up Popped the Devil'' (Enja, 1973) *''One Entrance, Many Exits'' (Palo Alto, 1982) With Cedar Walton *''Cedar!'' (Prestige, 1967) With Don Wilkerson *''The Texas Twister'' (1960) *''Preach Brother!'' (1962) With Jack Wilson *''Easterly Winds'' (Blue Note, 1967) References External links * class=artist|id=p6734|pure_url=yes}} Billy Higgins at Allmusic * Paean by Tony Gieske Category:Drummers